Lipstick Diaries, Round Three: Besame Red Hot Red and NARS Michiyo

Pay no attention to the woman in front of the curtain with some slightly jacked-up base makeup; she was trying a few new products and didn't always hit it out of the park. Let's focus on the lipsticks instead! On the left, we have a shade that has slowly become one of my all-time favorites, Besame Red Hot Red. I've probably said that about every Besame lipstick I own, but it really matters with Red Hot Red because I once called the shade "redundant." Yes, it's still like Victory Red and Besame Red got together and had a warm-toned baby, but it's definitely a little different. I think it's one of the most flattering reds I own.

On the opposite end of the color spectrum, we have NARS Michiyo, a very cool-toned pink. I'm weirdly picky about shades like this, probably because they clash with my warm-ish undertones. Michiyo seems to have the "right amount" of clash, if that makes sense: it sticks out without looking bad. I wore this makeup to class this past week and garnered half a dozen compliments. Granted, I teach a lot of ELL students who are openly obsessed with bright lipsticks and will compliment me any time I wear one, but they were especially enthusiastic about this one. Michiyo has also has great staying power (especially if you apply, blot, and re-apply) and photographs beautifully.

Lipstick Diaries, Round Three: Besame Tango Red and Glossier Cake

I have enough red lipstick to coat my entire body a million times over, but damn if I didn't finally buy Besame Tango Red in a snap during Black Friday 2018. While this product's description and swatch photos I'd seen made me think this wouldn't be my most flattering red, I still wanted it. And I can now confirm that yeah, other Besame reds are much better suited to my coloring, but this is still a gorgeous shade. Tango Red seems very similar to Carmine in the tube, but on my lips, it reads more pink and less orange, and it has a more muted quality to it. It's a relatively unique shade among my slew of reds. I agree with Besame: this would be truly stunning on people with olive undertones or a deeper skintone.

Oh, and yes, I bought a new tube of Glossier Cake to test out the Generation G lipstick's freaking third formulation in the last five years. I've gotta say, I agree with most of the reviews that have come in: the new formula builds better, but is more drying and accentuates the lines in my lips like woah. Just look at how parched my mouth looks in this photo, and I'd JUST applied the lipstick fifteen minutes before! I like the shade and the sheerness, but the new formula isn't comfortable in the slightest and definitely isn't worth the money.

Lipstick Diaries, Round Three: Besame Victory Red and Colourpop Steelo

I try not to take photos of my makeup after I've been bombing around for a few hours, but that's what happened with this photo of Besame Victory Red, since I wanted to get to work a little earlier than usual. I wear this saturated, blue-based red to work a lot, actually, because my English Language Learning students love it, and it puts a lot of focus on my mouth. Trust me, when you spend 20+ minutes forcing them to stare at your lips to see where your tongue and teeth go for a "v" or "th" sound, you'll appreciate the help. While this is one of my favorite Besame reds and a shade I recommend often, I have to repeat that many dark-skinned people find that this shade turns pink on them. If you have deeper skin, you may do better with a shade like Red Velvet.

As for that picture on the right: your eyes are not deceiving you. That is, indeed, a lipgloss. Colourpop had a 20% off sale and I wanted to pick up a couple of their new-ish brow products, so I tossed in the Colourpop Steelo gloss as well. The internet insists it's a dupe for the original Fenty Gloss Bomb...and yeah, it's pretty damn close. (Granted, super-sheer pink with a bit of gold shimmer isn't hard to dupe.) The Colourpop glosses have a decent brush-tip applicator and a decent slightly sticky formula with a decent amount of shine, decent decent decent. I won't write worshipful odes to this gloss any time soon, but it's a solid product that I'm genuinely enjoying, and hey, I'm not the best judge of gloss to begin with.

As a final note, I apologize again for the washed out photo on the left. I'm bringing my sequin backdrop from Pennsylvania and may invest in a stronger ringlight to deal with the weird ass lighting situation in our new apartment.

Lipstick Diaries, Round Three: MAC More Than a Woman and Besame Red Velvet

We're welcoming back the Lipstick Diaries with the shades from my most recent makeup bag: MAC More Than a Woman and Besame Red Velvet. While they look very similar in these pictures, they are absolutely different shades, I swear.

MAC More Than a Woman is an amplified cream from the recent Aaliyah collection. It's definitely a purple shade, which I normally shy away from, but this one has a lot of pink in it, which is probably why I'm able to wear it without looking like a total idiot. It also has the glossy finish amplified creams are known for. Paired with Sephora Deep Aubergine liner, I can see this being one of my favorites this winter. (Note: if you're wondering why this photo is so much darker than the other one, it's because it was a rare cloudy day on the great plains and I'm still figuring out my lighting. Please bear with me.)

Besame Red Velvet continues to be one of my favorite shades, and with good reason! It's a neutral, slightly deeper red that I think flatters almost everybody. This is one of Besame's "Classic Colour" lipsticks, so it has a more satin but-not-flat-matte finish. Red Velvet always nets me compliments, especially at work. My tube is in the special edition Agent Carter packaging, so you'll basically have to take it off of my dead body.

REVIEW: House of Besame Debutante Sheer Color Lipsticks

For as long as I can remember, my mother has been obsessed with costume dramas. Does she actually care about the plot of The Age of Innocence or Downton Abbey? Well, kind of, but she openly admits that her primary attraction to those sorts of shows is the lavish clothing wealthy people wore at the time. Even after discovering that the sort of people she's looking at didn't bathe too often and, therefore, said lovely clothing probably had a bit of a stench to it, she's drawn to anything that promises corseted women swooning over their beaus.

Despite the fact that I hate even wearing a bra and get most of my ratty black t-shirts from the thrift store, my mother's love of costume dramas rubbed off on me, as did my brother's interest in history. This prompted a fascination with cultural norms and beauty expectations throughout the ages, particularly the Revolutionary War era and the 19th century.

So you can imagine how deliriously happy I was when Besame, one of my all-time favorite brands, released a picture of their new Debutante Sheer Color Lipsticks, which feature the Gibson Girl on the box. After I posted the picture on my Instagram story with the shrieking caption "OH MY EDWARDIAN GODDDDD," Besame messaged me and said they had actually sent the new lipsticks to me.

How excited was I for these new lipsticks? So excited that I immediately made my mother promise to forward the box to me ASAP if it arrived after I'd moved. After several stressful weeks of moving in to our new place a thousand miles from home, receiving these lipsticks was a treat.

The Debutante Sheer Color Lipsticks are advertised as part of the new "House of Besame" line, which seems to be inspired by turn-of-the-century luxury beauty routines. They arrive in matte, pink tubes with the traditional Besame flower logo. At $22 per 0.12oz tube, they are the same size and price as Besame's breakout Classic Color range. The main difference, of course, is that these are meant to be sheer. These also have a different scent: the original Besame lipsticks smell very faintly of vanilla to me, but the Debutante range uses peppermint oil for a light mint scent.

There are currently three shades in the range. Berry Red is, as the name suggests, a relatively neutral, popsicle-stain red; it's slightly less brown and more vibrant in real life than it looks in this swatch picture. Mint Rose is a soft pink. Chocolate Kiss is a sheer version of the same warm brown shade from the Classic Color range.

While these lipsticks are more sheer than anything from the Classic Color Range, they're not as barely-there as some sheer lipsticks, ie Glossier Generation G. One swipe will net you visible color. Mint Rose and Chocolate Kiss are very slightly glossy, but only slightly, and this easily rectified with a quick blot if you prefer a more matte look. Berry Red has more of a traditional lip stain look to it.

From left to right: Chocolate Kiss, Mint Rose, Berry Red.

I fully expected Mint Rose to be my favorite of the three shades. But while it's certainly the one I'll wear most frequently, being so work-appropriate and my-lips-but-better on y skintone, I think the shade that impresses me the most is Chocolate Kiss. I love the original, full-on version of this shade, but it can be a bit tough for me to wear brown lipstick past autumn. This sheer alternative seems like it will be more wearable on different skintones throughout all four seasons.

As far as wear goes, these perform about the same as most sheer lipsticks: they last for a good 3-4 hours if you're gentle with them, but they will fade quickly if you eat a full meal or drink a lot.

I have two problems with these lipsticks. My first complaint is honestly a bit petty: the names of the lipsticks are on the bottom of the tubes and on the white barcode stickers on the boxes, but they're not on the box itself. I always loved the "This shade is a true replica of a shade from ____" stickers on the Classic Color boxes; it felt like it fit right in to the aesthetic. Having to locate the name on an obtrusive white sticker makes the experience feel a bit less lux than I'd expect.

My more substantial quibble is that Besame claims these lipsticks are moisturizing, but I can't agree; I actually found that they could be ever so slightly drying by the end of the day. I think this is caused by the peppermint oil, which dries my lips out a bit; your mileage may vary.

While the Debutante Sheer Color Lipsticks are never going to usurp the many Classic Color Lipsticks in my collection, they've earned the right to sit in the same drawer. They're easy to wear, beautifully packaged, and have me excited for whatever else Besame is planning for this new range.

RATING: 4 out of 5

House of Besame products are available at BesameCosmetics.com.

These lipsticks were sent to me by Besame. As I made clear to the company, I only write honest reviews. I do not accept financial compensation for my posts.

Swatches of All Eleven of My Besame Lipsticks

It's no secret that Besame makes my absolute favorite lipstick formula. I love it so much, I wrote them a gushing email and they ended up sending me a few other products to try. There's no shame in having a favorite formula. What is slightly more shameful is the fact that I own eleven tubes, ten full size and most purchased in the span of a year. I could own more, but I've told myself that I've already gotten rid of several redundant or unflattering colors, and I know that most of the shades I haven't tried wouldn't work in my collection.

Then again, I'm barely resisting Tango Red. Thank the Lord moving is expensive.

For now, I thought it would be helpful to wear all of the lipsticks back-to-back, especially since I own or have owned almost every red the company makes. There are a few shades that I've swatched, but no longer own: 1930 Noir Red looked almost black on me and had a "meh" formula, 1935 was beautiful, but I didn't need another cool red, and 1969 Dusty Rose wasn't flattering on me at all. The shades I haven't owned are 1922 Blood Red (too similar to Merlot), 1939 Tango Red (I don't need another warm red), or 1952 Wild Orchid (it's too purple and it's only available at certain times, anyway). I don't own any of the Snow White shades, either.

Bear in mind that I attempted to come up with the most basic, simple makeup I could so that I could wear a bunch of different shades without them looking too "off." Also, I had to apply and remove almost a dozen decently long-wearing, pigmented lipsticks; my mouth ended up looking quite the mess, and my application is nowhere near as sharp as I usually like. That said, I think this will still be a useful comparison post!

1920 Besame Red

NOTE: This shade was sent to me by the company.

Their Description: "True red with a cooler, blue-toned base. Bright, vibrant, and head turning."

My Description: I find that it's pretty much impossible to make a bright red totally neutral; it will always lean a little cool or a little warm. Besame Red is the former. While they call this "bright, vibrant, and head turning," I think it has a slightly more muted quality than their other cool reds (scroll to the 1940s for that). It's a surprisingly wearable shade that I reach for more than I ever thought I would. Fair warning, this shade always leaves a strong pink stain on my lips after I remove it.

1931 Carmine

Their Description: "Neutral orange-red, with mostly orange pigments. Perfect for golden and olive skin tones, bright and beautiful on light skin too."

My Description: If I had to come up with a list of my top three favorite Besame lipsticks, Carmine would definitely be on it. As per their description, this is a very warm red; in fact, I'd say it's just one step shy of being a straight up orange. I find this shade truly bright and eye catching on my fair, yellow-toned skin, and it really does look stunning on tan and olive complexions.

1933 Merlot

NOTE: This shade was sent to me by the company.

Their Description: "Dark brown brick-red shade. Neutral enough for daily wear on any skin tone."

My Description: It's interesting that Besame calls this "neutral enough for daily wear on any skin tone," because I think it's very vampy on anyone with light to medium skin. While it's too deep for me to wear daily, it's a great every day red on dark complexions, and I love it for special occasions. The richness of this shade always garners compliments.

1941 Victory Red

Their Description: "A highly pigmented and saturated red. Denser, brighter, deeper and a bit darker than Bésame Red. Ideal for all skin tones."

My Description: This photo isn't quite doing justice to how bright Victory Red is. "Saturated" is the perfect description for this very cool-toned, bold, brilliant red shade. Victory Red has a slightly glossier formula than my other Besame lipsticks; if I want their usual satin finish, I have to blot it. Even blotted down, this is not a red for the faint of heart. I also have to note that some darker skinned people have mentioned that this shade turns pink on them, so it may not be the best color for deeper skintones.

1945 American Beauty

Their Description: "A cool berry red shade from 1945 with magenta undertones."

My Description: Is this color flattering on me? Not really, thanks to all of the purple in it. Do I keep it anyway? Yes, because it's so damn pretty. It's a winner for those of you who want a red that's cool toned, but not incredibly bright. American Beauty reminds me of Revlon Cherries in the Snow, but it's more matte. In fact, this shade is more matte than any of my other Besame lipsticks.

1946 Red Velvet

Their Description: "A deeper red suitable for every day wear. This neutral undertone red looks wonderful on all skin tones."

My Description: Now, this is a neutral, deep red I could see most people wearing every day! I've never seen this shade look bad on someone. As the name suggests, it's a rich, velvety red shade. My tube is in the special edition Agent Carter packaging, which is gorgeous and worth every penny.

1955 Exotic Pink

Their Description: "A bright bold flamingo pink from 1955."

My Description: It seems that this color was discontinued, then very, very briefly brought back when the company found an extra box of lipstick in storage. In my opinion, it's a shade they need to bring back to the rotation. Not only does it provide a break from all of the reds (and yes, I love red, but we need a breather sometimes), it's also a gorgeous shade in its own right. As weird as it sounds, this is the sort of shade that makes me think of "ribbons" and "orchids," very beautiful, fun, cool-toned pink things.

1959 Red Hot Red

Their Description: "A bold and brazen warm red. Similar to Bésame Red but warmer, with more yellow tones. A classic fire engine red."

My Description: I didn't need this shade, but I was splitting the limited edition Agent Carter lip kit with a friend, and she didn't want either of the reds. And when have I ever turned down a red? So here we are. Honestly, if you have one of the other true reds from the range, you probably don't need this color. Yes, it's slightly brighter and warmer than Besame Red, but they're so similar on the lips that nobody would even notice. If I had to pick, actually, I'd go for Besame Red because that muted quality makes it unique. You could also call Victory Red this shade's glossier, cooler-toned cousin. This is still a lovely lipstick; I'm just saying it seems redundant in the range.

1963 Portrait Pink 

Their Description: "Pastel baby pink without shimmer, ideal for paler skin tones. A barely there pink for days when you want something simple and light."

My Description: I bought this lipstick expecting a truly mod, milky pink, but it ended up being brighter and less white than I expected. (For a real mod pink, I ended up going for Rodin So Mod.) You may find this more mod if you have light to medium skin; if you're darker skinned, I think this will be a bit too white based for you. As it stands, I like this shade, but I mostly use it as a mixer.

1965 Portrait Peach

Their Description: "Delicate soft peach color and cousin of our Portrait Pink."

My Description: "Delicate" and "soft" are subjective, so I'll just note that while this is, yet again, not a pastel peach on me and it's brighter than I initially expected, it actually feels very 60s. It reminds me of the shades Audrey Heburn wore in movies like Breakfast at Tiffany's. This is one of my favorites to wear with dark eye looks for a pop of color, and I love how it adds a bit more saturation to beige nudes like NARS Raquel.

1970 Chocolate Kiss 

Their Description: "Neutral milk chocolate brown, especially flattering on red-heads. A great nude shade for medium to dark skin."

My Description: I can't recommend Chocolate Kiss for darker skin enough, but I also quite like it on my fair complexion. I think it's because this is a brown with a lot of red in it. It reads more terracotta than straight-up brown on me, and I like it. I only have a mini because it's not the sort of shade I wear often, but I always enjoy it when I do wear it.

All Shades Together for Easy Comparison

Try This: Create New Lip Colors

I know super huge, macro lip shots freak some people out, but I think it's worth it if it can save us some money. Obviously, lipstick is my weakness, and when I see a blogger wearing an incredible new shade or a makeup artist showcasing a formula with a unique finish, I want to rush out and buy another tube pronto. But the truth of the matter is that I don't have a ton of money to buy new products, and I don't really need them, anyway. When I look at my collection of over a dozen lipsticks, assorted balms, and various pencils, I realize I can make most colors with a bit of mixing.

Take this first lip as an example. Lisa Eldridge did a video showcasing a variety of bright-but-not-stark lip looks, and I was weirdly attracted to this sort of "popsicle"variation. (I say "weirdly" not because it's an odd look, but because glossy isn't usually my style.) I stopped myself from buying a new Korean lipstick and tried mixing shades instead. I used Portrait Peach for the overall color and some Fenty Freckle Fiesta for a bit more depth, and I layered Fresh Sugar Caramel Lip Balm under and over to create that more sheer, shiny finish. Boom: no new lipstick required!

Pencils are also an excellent mixing tool. Using them just around the edges of your mouth is a great way to get a clean shape, create depth, and prevent feathering, but it can also alter the shade of the lipstick on top. Rodin So Mod is a bit too milky and pastel for me to wear on its own, so I always use a dash of NYX Nude Pink around the edges to keep my mouth from disappearing. If you cover your entire lips in the darker, more peach liner, then So Mod becomes a less pastel, but still milky and mod-ish shade. I love this look so much, I've finally decided to let go of MAC Faux lipstick. (It's in the same color family, just more purple and muted, which isn't as flattering on my skintone.)

Granted, this only works if you have a small collection of lip products to begin with. If you only own a couple of lipsticks or a single pencil, your options might be more limited. Yet with one gloss, six pencils, and sixteen lipsticks, my collection is not huge by blogger standards, and I can still come up with a range of new colors. Even if you only have two lip products, it's worth smearing them together to see what you can get.

Also, a word of advice on matte liquid lipsticks: you can still blend most of them. You'll just have to move quicker. Some people do one color on their top lip and another on their bottom, then rub their lips together, but I find that a lot of modern liqui-mattes dry too quickly for this, and it can mess up the lip line. You can try dabbing a bit of each shade on the back of your hand, then blending them together and applying them with a lip brush for precision.

Winter 2018 Favorites

As promised, I'm trying seasonal favorites posts this year. I worried that this would encourage me to rave about a dozen plus products that initially wowed me, then disappointed me when the initial luster wore off, buuuuuuut I've only got three beauty-related products, one book, one soundtrack, and a piece of clothing. I guess I'm pickier than I give myself credit for.

So let's start with the beauty products! After finishing a sample vial of Etat Libre d'Orange Remarkable People and obtaining a coupon code for Twisted Lily, I decided to get a full bottle. This is a rare bird: a citrus I actually love. It's fleeting, but it's gorgeous while it lasts. The mimosa and grapefruit top notes give this a lot of sparkle without being too sweet or synthetic, and the citrus blends with a bit of soft, white florals in the heart. It's not as "laundry detergent" smelling as most other citrus-white floral blends I've tried--it's more like a "you left a glass of moscato in your snobby cousin's Hamptons bathroom full of fancy hand soaps" blend. I wear it mostly to work right now, but I'm sure I'll wear it even more in our hot, humid summers.

Now, as far as fragrances go, the little bottles of Etat Libre d'Orange perfumes are pretty affordable. But when it comes to hyaluronic acid serums? Jordan Samuel Hydrate is definitely an upgrade. It's worth the price, though, to have such a hydrating, plumping hyaluronic acid serum that feels great on my skin and doesn't irritate me. Seriously, applying this under my moisturizer, then running a humidifier at night has saved my face this winter. I'm curious about his new-ish face mist now, so if anybody has tried it, let me know your thoughts!

@besamecosmetics Carmine is everything I wanted it to be. I traced my lips with @maccosmetics Chromagraphic Basic Red pencil for a bit of depth. #besamecosmetics #orangelipstick #redlipstick #fotd

A post shared by Renee (@reneesanatomy) on Jan 26, 2018 at 11:07am PST

It took me a while to buy Besame's Carmine lipstick because I'm insanely cheap and I wasn't sure such an orange shade would work on me, but ooooh, I'm so glad I finally got my hands on it. This is the perfect balance of orange and red...like, it's almost orange, but there's just this extra dash of red that keeps it in the "warm red" category. It's a very saturated color, which I think works better with my skintone.

While I've been lucky with beauty products these past few months, I haven't had nearly as much success with books. I've read plenty of okay stuff, and a couple of books even got a four star rating. But only one earned a coveted five star, favorite book slot: Patrick Süskind's "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer." I actually read this book when I was in middle school--the library was a 15 minute walk from my house at the time and I'd stop lingering in the children's section at the end of elementary school, thanks to Wishbone--but I couldn't remember much more than "I really liked it." So when I finally got around to seeing the film version (solid but slow, visually striking, etc.), I decided to re-read the novel.

"Perfume" tells the story of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a misanthropic orphan with an incredible, incomparable sense of smell and no scent of his own. Guided and governed by his nose and his own selfish desires, he becomes obsessed with capturing the smells of certain people through the art of perfumery. Grenouille is far more blatantly sociopathic in the novel than he is in the film. For instance, film Grenouille accidentally kills a young woman and feels guilty for a moment before he starts sniffing her corpse, while novel Grenouille kills her on purpose, then noses away without remorse. In a sense, it felt like the film was trying to make us like him, while the book makes it very clear that he's a bastard of the highest sort...and I prefer that. It's hard to make me sympathize with someone who murders people just so he can smell them.

As for music, I've been listening to the Padmaavat soundtrack almost nonstop since it released. I still haven't seen the film, to be totally honest, since few of my friends enjoy Bollywood and those who do said it was "meh." The music, though, is utterly gorgeous. While "Nainowale Ne" may be my personal favorite track, "Ghoomar" captured the hearts of millions, so I just have to post it here. (NOTE: They edited this song in the film version to make it less "provocative," mostly by Photoshopping a red shift over Deepika's mid-drift. I think it looks silly, so I'm posting the original version here.)

Last, but most certainly not least, I have to give a shout out to the Elephant (Yoga) Pants. I tried the original harem version years ago and liked, but did not love, them. They were just too high at the waist, and the material was very see through. The yoga pants, though...they have just the right amount of stretch and have much thicker fabric. I wear a size 8 or 10 dress trouser right now (not my best weight, I admit) and am comfortable in a medium, and it should still fit when I get back down to my normal size. I'm trying to find work-from-home jobs for now, since I'm planning on moving soon, and I'm a little worried that if I land one, I'll live in these freaking pants. Mine are the black Kihari style.

Product List:

Etat Libre d'Orange Remarkable People, $42

Jordan Samuel Hydrate Facial Serum, $29

Besame Classic Colour Lipstick in Carmine, $22

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, $11.99

Padmaavat Soundtrack, $10.49

Elephant Pants Yoga Pants, $23

My Favorite Red Lip Pencil

Before I wised up to the racket that is "free shipping when you spend X!", I would toss things I didn't really want or need in to my shopping cart to hit that shipping minimum. When it came to MAC's website, I usually picked another tube of Strobe Cream or a new lipstick. On one occasion, I decided a red eyeliner seemed like a good idea...probably because the pencils were on sale or something of that ilk. I'd tested the MAC Chromagraphic Pencils in the nude shades before and found them to be pigmented and creamy, so I figured I'd have the same luck with Basic Red.

It turns out red eyeliner isn't exactly the best look for a professor. I wore scarlet wings to class once, received a snippy comment from a higher-up, and retired the pencil to the back of my collection. And at the time, I had such a huge collection that this one pencil was quickly lost in the mix.

I've since downsized my collection dramatically, all the while becoming more and more aware of what I do and don't need to achieve certain looks. Only two red pencils have stuck with me: NYX Auburn, which I've owned for far too many years but refuse to quit because it works so well with deep bordeauxs and bold crimsons, and MAC Basic Red.

Top: Besame 1941 Victory Red and 1920 Besame Red. Middle: MAC Chromagraphic Pencil in Basic Red. Bottom: MAC Scarlet Ibis and Besame 1931 Carmine.

Basic Red is the cleanest, most neutral red lip liner I've ever found. Some people say it leans a little warm, but honestly, I think it depends on which lipstick you pair it with. I wear it with all four of the shades above: the cool toned and saturated Victory Red, the more muted Besame Red (which appears outright purple-ish here because it's so muted in comparison to other three shades, but is clearly a soft, slightly blue red on the lips), the slightly warm Scarlet Ibis, and the orange-red Carmine. In every case, lining my lips with MAC Basic Red, then bringing the lipstick right to that pencil line always gives me the sharpest, fullest look I can get sans lip brush.

I've also worn Basic Red on its own with just a hint of balm or gloss on top, as in my Best of 2016 video. The formula is smooth enough to apply evenly to the lips and feel comfortable, but waxy enough to stay put. (The standard MAC lipliners, I find, are a bit too dry and flaky to be worn all over the lips.)

This truly versatile pencil deserves far more hype than it gets. That said, I'm not so much encouraging you to rush out and buy it as I am encouraging you to think very carefully about the products you already have. It's the stuff we tend to reach for automatically, without fanfare or fuss, that's truly deserving of "Holy Grail" status.

REVIEW: Besame Delicate Rouge and Cream Rouge

When Besame offered to send me some of their blushes, I was expecting just one of the powders and maybe a pot of their Cream Rouge. Imagine my utter shock when they sent me both Cream Rouge shades and two of their Delicate Rouge powders. Actually, if you follow me on Instagram, you probably don't have to imagine my reaction; it was pretty obvious on my story:

Despite the excitement of "ERMAGAHD BESAME NOTICED ME" and legitimately gorgeous new products, I really wanted to take my time testing these out. I rarely use powder blushes, so I'm a wee bit out of the loop, and I have such an obsession with cream blushes and Besame that I was worried I wouldn't give this stuff a fair trial. Having fiddled with these for several weeks now, I think I'm ready to give my review.

Let's start with the Cream Rouges, which come in two permanent shades: Crimson, a cool-toned red, and Apricot, a bright orange. (At the time of this post, there's also a limited edition shade from the Snow White collection called With a Smile and a Song, which appears to be a rose shade.) These are packaged in small tins that are relatively easy to open, which is a definite improvement over their previous packaging that featured a lid like a bomb shelter door. The permanent shades retail for $18 and contain 3.5 grams of product.

People often complain that these are "really tiny," but that's a little misguided. For starters, you really can't compare cream and liquid blushes to powder blushes. Creams and liquids tend to have more concentrated color--you need less product to get the same effect. They're also more commonly applied with fingers, or put on the back of the hand to warm them up before using a brush, whereas powder blushes need to be a bit bigger so your brush can dip right in. For this reason, cream blushes will always seem tiny compared to a powder blush. Most importantly, it's the actual amount of product in the container that needs to be considered. In that case, the Besame Cream Rouges still seem quite small, but a cost per gram analysis reveals that they're actually relatively affordable:

 Besame Cream Rouge, $18 for 3.5g = $5.14 per gram
Stila Convertible Color, $25 for 4.25g = $5.88 per gram
RMS Beauty Lip2Cheek, $36 for 4.82g = $7.46 per gram
Makeup Forever HD Blush, $26 for 2.8g = $9.28 per gram

Wearing Besame Cream Rouge in Crimson on my lips and cheeks.

The texture of these blushes actually sort of shocked me at first. While they look very solid in the pan, they warm up quickly under your fingers and take on an almost liquid texture. They have the lightweight texture and natural tint of a stain. You get a lot of color, believe me, but you can still see your skin, which gives it a very natural appearance. I absolutely adore it.

Speaking of the stain-like quality: the Besame Cream Rouges are actually advertised as a lip and cheek product, which made me side eye them at first. I've always said that these dual use products are usually only good for one or the other: if they work for the cheeks, they're too dry for the lips, and if they work for the lips, they're too hard to blend on the cheeks. That's not the case with these; I had no problem using them on my lips and getting a very natural, beautifully flushed color. They're a hair drying on the lips, but it's easily remedied by some balm.

Because the formula is very lightweight but pigmented, you can layer it up. In other words, you can use a little to look naturally rosy, or you can pack the product on and look truly flushed and borderline feverish. If you wanna call back to the days when tuberculosis was considered super sexy, this is the product to do it.

I can only think of two downsides for these blushes. The entirely personal one is that they contain one of my acne triggers, so I can only use them once or twice a week if I want to avoid clogs. Everyone's triggers are different and the ingredients list is actually pretty solid, so I'm not knocking the formula overall. The more general complaint I have is the smell, which reminds me of cherry Chapstick. I just think it cheapens an otherwise luxurious product.

Now for the Delicate Rouge blushes, which are their powders. I have to admit that I tilted my head a little when I saw the shades they sent me: I'm very fair and lean toward the warm side, but they sent me Raspberry (a violet pink) and Sunkissed (a soft, peachy brown). I actually expected them to send me one of the other two shades, Rose or Sweet Pink.

Each of the Delicate Rouges retails for $25. They come in these absolutely beautiful metal tins with screw top lids. (It took me a second to realize they had screw tops, and I kept trying to open them like they were hinged...which is especially embarrassing when you realize the note inside the cardboard box says "please twist to open.") The powder is embossed with a really beautiful flower logo. I actually held off on trying these out because we had so many gloomy days that it was hard to get decent lighting for photographs, and I definitely wanted to photograph that logo.

With 4.5 grams of blush in each pan, these are in the middle of the pack as far as high end blush cost per gram goes:

Urban Decay Afterglow Blush, $26 for 6.8g = $3.82 per gram
Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush, $29 for 5.6g = $5.17 per gram
Besame Delicate Rouge, $25 for 4.5g = $5.55 per gram
Laura Mercier Second Skin Cheek Color, $26 for 3.7g = $7.02 per gram
Surratt Beauty Artistique Blush, $32 for 4g = $8 per gram
Bobbi Brown Blush, $30 for 3.7g = $8.10 per gram

Besame also sent me their Rouge Brush, and I'm damn glad, because I don't actually own a traditional blush brush anymore. The brush is decently fluffy, made from synthetic hairs, and retails for $30. That's a bit steep for me for a blush brush, but it definitely blends products smoothly and feels nice on the skin.

Now, some people like to tap their brush in to powder blushes, and other people prefer to swirl. I definitely recommend that you stick with tapping. For starters, these are decently pigmented and a lot ends up on the brush. I actually had to tap Sunkissed off on my wrist to avoid overbronzing myself. Furthermore, these kick up a lot of powder. The photo above shows what Raspberry looked like after a gentle tap. Don't get me wrong: a lot ends up on the brush. But you'll definitely have a little bit left loose in the pan.

Wearing Raspberry along my cheekbones and Sunkissed...kind of sort of in the hollows of my cheeks. I TRIED, OKAY?

Because Sunkissed is more of a bronze shade, I attempted to do a wee bit of contour with it, which...didn't work. I don't really contour because it heightens my resemblance to a horse, and I definitely didn't do the best job here. It's too warm for me to contour with, anyway, and it's too brown to work as a blush on my skintone. It's a lovely shade, but it's not right for me. Trust and believe that I have several friends not-so-subtly asking if I'm going to hand them this pot of Sunkissed.

I had better luck with Raspberry. While it reads violet in the pan and in my swatch below, it blends out to a muted pink color. (You might get more of the purple tones if you wear a fuller coverage foundation.) I really love that it's matte without looking dry or flat.

With both shades, I blended by tapping the color on to my cheek, then buffing in small circles. This formula blends easily and smoothly over liquid foundation and over powder, though it was a little easier and quicker to get an even finish on powdered skin. 

So they're not the single greatest powder blushes in the world--I might give that distinction to Surratt--but they're definitely nice. I'd have no problem recommending them to most people. The shade range, however, is a disappointment for me.

The above photos are stills from Lisa Eldridge's vintage makeup series. In all three pictures, you can see vintage blushes in bright, saturated colors. I'm wondering why Besame didn't draw inspiration from products like these. I admit that my frustration stems from my love of bright, clean blush colors, but I'm also thinking about deeper skinned people. The existing Delicate Rouge shades have a pastel quality (with the possible exception of Rose), and none of them seems strong enough to show up on dark skin. Something like that bold pink on the bottom, however, would probably look beautiful on dark skin, and that would make the range more accessible.

Lastly, I want to add a quick note on staying power. Both of these formulas lasted for more than 6 hours on my cheeks with very little fading. I have very dry skin, though, so blushes tend to stick to my face regardless of the formulation. I'm not sure how long these would last on very oily skin.

As a whole, I was pleased with the Delicate Rouge and wowed by the Cream Rouge. They're beautifully packaged, well formulated, and a joy to use.

RATINGS:

Cream Rouge: 5 out of 5

Delicate Rouge: 4 out of 5

These blushes were sent to me by Besame. As I made clear to the company, I only write honest reviews. I do not accept financial compensation for my posts.

You can purchase these products on the Besame website.

FOTD: New-to-Me Besame Reds

It's very rare that I feel compelled to write a company and tell them I love their products, but Besame's lipsticks have wowed me to that point. So I shot them a quick email expressing my love, making sure to add that I've tried a squillion lipstick formulas at this point and nothing has quite compared. Imagine my shock when they replied, said they loved my blog, and would like to send me a few more things to try.

Maybe "shocked" isn't the best description. I was stunned, then elated, then suddenly insecure because I felt unworthy, then proud of myself because BESAME NOTICED ME AND THEREFORE I'VE MADE IT AS A BLOGGER.

They mentioned sending a few lipsticks in the bundle, and since I'm nothing if not thorough, I sent them the long list of Besame shades I've already tried and photographed. I openly admit that I was holding out for one of their warm reds, like Carmine or Tango Red, but I knew I'd be excited about whatever they sent me. I also assumed they'd send along 1920 Besame Red, since...I mean, it's named after their brand.

Sure enough, they sent a tube of Besame Red (on the left) along with a tube of 1933 Merlot (on the right). I actually hadn't noticed Merlot until recently, but it looked really beautiful in swatches, so I was beyond thrilled to receive it. For the record, I've already reviewed the Besame formula, but here's a quick summary: dense but not heavy, opaque, not overly drying on the lips, great staying power as long as you apply-blot-reapply (which I do with all of my traditional lipsticks, anyway), applies smooth as silk, photographs like a dream, creamy satin finish. The only shade I've tried thus far that hasn't fit this description is Noir Red, which I found drying, smeary, and not as smooth to apply.

1920 Besame Red is not the sort of red I'm immediately drawn to, but it's definitely lovely and flattering. It leans cool toned and has a muted quality that gives it a certain softness. Of all of the Besame shades I've tried, Besame Red somehow feels the most "vintage" to me. I like this one best with a relatively simple makeup look, since it's so beautifying and classic.

I have a slight preference for 1933 Merlot, which is a deep shade with a brick-brown side to it that makes it very striking and lush. (My mother said it looks "rich," which is probably the simplest yet most apt description.) Because it's a more glamorous shade, I like it with a little more on my eyes. Usually, that means winged eyeliner, but on this particular day, I decided I have a lot of nice powder eyeshadows and I should probably use them more. And since I lack eyeshadow application skills, I basically just smeared them on. If it works, it works.

Frankly, when it comes to Besame's red lipstick range, neither of these tops my beloved Victory Red, but that's a tough shade to beat. I do think Besame Red would be a better option for light to medium skinned people who found Victory Red too bright, and Merlot will look especially stunning on deeper skintones. Thanks to these two shades, my love of Besame lipsticks has only grown.

These lipsticks were sent to me by Besame. As I made clear to the company, I only write honest reviews. I do not accept financial compensation for my posts.

You can purchase these shades on the Besame website.

Return of the Lipstick Diaries #8: Lime Crime Prairie and Besame Red Velvet

This post is proof that I need to stop getting suckered in by flat matte, super pastel liquid lipsticks. Lime Crime Prairie looks great in the tube and in swatches, and I love the idea of a cool-toned, very soft purple-pink in theory. But on my lips, that white base is just way too stark. So far, I've only been able to wear this shade two or three times, and I always mixed it with another color. The formula is wonderful, especially for a pastel, but the shade is a no-go on me. I mean, do I look a bit dead on the left? I do, don't I?

Also, please appreciate the fact that there are no wings on my liner. It's a known fact that when your liquid eyeliner pen dies, it'll be when you've finished one eye and not the either. I managed to salvage it by using a very dark brown liner instead, but damn, Physician's Formula Long Name Liner, you did me dirty.

I feel very differently about Besame Red Velvet, though! I was trying to think of the best description for this color, and the word "velvety" popped in to my head; then I remembered, "Ahahahaha, that's part of the name! I'm an idiot." Red Velvet was made famous by the first Captain America film, where it was worn by the stunning Hayley Atwell (aka Agent Carter):

This is a deep, rich, neutral-leaning-slightly-cool red that would look amazing on almost any skintone. I don't know if I'll ever finish the mini I got in my Besame kit, but if I do, I might be tempted to buy a full size of this one. I'm starting to prefer it to NARS Charlotte, which has been a favorite of mine this past year...and hence, I'm considering purging Charlotte. Also, I'm starting to think this is as dark as I should go with reds. (Charlotte is about the same depth, but has stronger purple tones.)

FOTD: Besame Victory Red

It's been a while since I've done a stand-alone "Face of the Day" post. There are two reasons for this. First, I don't wear very exciting or unique makeup on the regular. Second, if I'm trying a new product or technique, I'm usually doing it for a review or a specialized post, so there's no need to make a FOTD post outlining what I did for my base or my brows. In short, I'm boring.

But Besame lipsticks have quickly become my favorite traditional lipstick formula. And now that I've used a gift card to buy my first full size tube--a leaning-cool red called Victory Red--I feel like it's finally time for a new FOTD. This lipstick is worth it.

Please excuse the brows, though. I'm trying to use up a deluxe sample, and the shade is definitely too warm for me.

PREP: Youth to the People Kale & Spinach Face Cream; MAC Strobe Cream

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BASE: MAC Face & Body foundation in N1 + White; NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Chantilly; Dolce & Gabbana Powder Foundation in 50 Ivory; Clinique Moisture Spurge Face Spray

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CHEEKS: Bare Minerals Pop of Passion Blush Balm in Posy Passion

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EYES: Benefit Goof Proof Brow Pencil in #3; Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel; Perfekt Beauty Lash Perfection Gel

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LIPS: MAC Chromagraphic Pencil in Basic Red; Besame Lipstick in Victory Red

Return of the Lipstick Diaries #3 - Besame Chocolate Kiss and MAC Kinda Sexy

I was apparently in a very brown-beige-nude sort of mood this January, huh? But these are two very different colors. The first one is Besame Chocolate Kiss, a duplicate of a 1970s lipstick shade. It's a rich brown shade with a lot of red tones in it. Normally I don't go for brown shades because they just look weird on my skintone, but the warmth in Chocolate Kiss saves it for me. I'm glad I only have a mini, though, because I know this is a shade I'll enjoy when I wear it, but won't wear often. As a side note, this lipstick normally has a tad more shine to it--I blotted it because I was reminiscing about my 90s childhood. Man, I loved raiding my best friend's sister's makeup and seeing all of the dark plums and matte browns!

Annnnyway. I've got another nude peach shade here (WTF is my problem lately?), MAC Kinda Sexy. I've been wanting to try this shade for a long time, so I was beyond thrilled to get it in a pack of 4 mini lipsticks I received as a gift. I actually really like this color on me: it's got just the right balance of peach and brown, and it's not as dark and muddy or as pastel as some other peachy nudes. I've noticed that I've acquired a few of these types of lipsticks in the past year, though, so I'll have to do some careful comparisons in a few months to pick the ones that perform the best.

If you're looking forward to more Lipstick Diaries and a dozen new shots of my super sexy default head tilt, let me know!

REVIEW: Besame Mini Lipstick Set

As a casual fan of classic cinema and vintage makeup, I've long lusted after the Besame product range. I don't need any more cream blushes and I don't wear loose powder, but the beautiful tins and historically accurate shades of their cream rouges and brightening powders make me question my resolve. And of course, there's the lipstick range, loaded with replicas of vintage shades in some of the prettiest packaging on the market.

Of course, it's more than just the packaging. Even people who aren't in to ye olde fashioned face paint have said that Besame makes well-formulated products. In fact, I began noticing posts on makeup forums stating that the writer had tested a Besame product (usually the lipstick matchbooks) on a whim and ended up discovering their new favorite red. So when I saw this reasonably priced set of Besame mini lipsticks on Sephora, I knew the stars had aligned.

The Besame Mini Lipstick Set is $25. Each mini lipstick contains one gram of product, so the set contains a total of 5g of lipstick; a full-size tube will run you $22 for 3.4g, so you're certainly getting value for your money there.

 Unfortunately, while the tubes are pretty, they're plastic. They're also incredibly tiny, even by mini lipstick standards. They're so tiny, in fact, that the labels on the bottoms can only fit the lipstick year (explained down below), not the full name. I mentioned on Snapchat that they reminded me a little of children's makeup. That said, it's not a terrible presentation as far as minis go, and the little sliders on these make my day. I'm pretty sure the swivel tube was patented in the mid-1920s, and most of Besames lipsticks are based off of shades from the 1930s onward, but...I really wish that slider was on the full-size tubes, too. It's a rare case of something old-fashioned yet functional.

Natural light on the top, flash on the bottom.

Speaking of the shades! The five shades in this set are, from left to right: 1930 Noir Red (extremely dark plummy red), 1935 Cherry Red (pin-up blue-based shade), 1946 Red Velvet (kind of neutral deep red), 1969 Dusty Rose (mauve), and 1970 Chocolate Kiss (brown with hints of terracotta). All of the shades are replicas of vintage shades from the listed years. The satin finish is classic as well. (As Besame points out on their site, older lipstick formulas were usually full of waxes and oils, so they were not uber matte.)

Most of Besame's lipsticks are reds, since that was the color of choice for quite a few decades, so I'm not shocked that you get three in this kit. I am a little stunned that this selection reads so cool-toned, though, with the obvious exception of Chocolate Kiss. I would think you'd replace either Cherry Red or Red Velvet with something much warmer, like 1931 Carmine, for more balance.

I did like some of these shades on me more than others. I figured Red Velvet and Cherry Red were going to be winners from the start, but I was actually shocked by how much I liked Chocolate Kiss as well. I think it's the slight reddish undertones that seem to pop out against my skin that make it more wearable for me. Dusty Rose reads plum on me because I'm so fair--on most people, it'll likely look more mauve. The disappointment of the bunch, for me, was Noir Red, which is so shockingly dark against my skintone it almost appears black in person. I didn't like it on me and neither did my family. That said, I'm glad they included a shade that can be vampy for deeper skintones.

I wasn't sure if I'd like the chiseled shape of these lipsticks at first, but it ended up being an asset. You can use the flat side to fill in the majority of your mouth, then refine your lip line with the thin tip. I didn't find these minis too difficult to control, but bear in mind that I have small hands.

The formula of these lipsticks is, by my standards, divine. It's not as creamy or slick as some ranges, like Bite Amuse Bouche, and it can make your lips feel a hair dry by the end of the day. However, it applies smoothly to the lips and provides full pigment with a single stroke. The one exception was Noir Red, which I found a bit dryer during application and a bit more drying during wear than the others; it tugged a little as I applied it and I definitely needed balm by the end of the day. As a whole, though, it's a decently comfortable, very opaque, and lush-looking formula.

This product also had impressive wear. No, it's not apocalypse-proof like some liquid mattes, but it's pretty damn close, especially if you compare it to other traditional lipsticks. The above photos show Red Velvet after about 4 hours with some light water drinking (top) and Noir Red after a meal (bottom). There's the usual wear and tear, namely some fading in the very center of my mouth. Beyond that, there's no major smearing, flaking, or feathering.

I honestly love this kit and will keep four out of the five shades. It's encouraged me to check out more of the Besame lipstick range as soon as I finish a few of my current tubes and save up some coins--I'm eyeing Portrait Pink and Tango Red right now. I'd recommend it to:

• people looking to get a feel for the Besame lipstick range.
• those who have yet to find their perfect cool-toned red.
• anybody who has ever said, "I like lipstick, but I can never finish a tube!" (This is especially true if you like certain colors, but only wear them on occasion.)

RATING: 5 out of 5

I bought this set on Sephora's website.